Archive for January, 2011

A revealing visit to France last October by President Sebastián Piñera has reignited a long smoldering debate in Chile over the so-called “nuclear option.”

Careful not to endorse the possibility outright, the Chilean leader nevertheless make it clear during an Oct. 20 stopover in Paris that with the benefit of some French knowhow, nuclear power plants may eventually be in the cards for Chile. Read the rest of this entry ?

Nine months after one of the strongest earthquakes in recorded history jolted central Chile, the disaster has returned to the national forefront as fodder in a mudslinging match between the country’s increasingly popular president, Sebastián Piñera, and a weakened opposition eager to find a chink in the first-year leader’s political armor. Read the rest of this entry ?

A deadly fire last November in a Salvadoran youth jail has provided yet another painful reminder of the deplorable conditions and grave health and safety shortcomings that characterize the tiny Central American nation’s grossly overcrowded prison system. Read the rest of this entry ?

The race for the presidency of Nicaragua is officially on following a late October announcement by the de-facto head of the Consejo Supremo Electoral (CSE), Roberto Rivas, who convoked a general election for Nov. 6, 2011. Itself a subject of debate, Rivas’ proclamation offered an early glimpse of the wild controversy and serious legitimacy questions expected to plague the upcoming campaign season. Read the rest of this entry ?